Office of Insurance Regulation Adopts Home Structure Rating System

OFFICE ANNOUNCES ADOPTION OF THE HOME STRUCTURE RATING SYSTEM (HSRS)

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TALLAHASSEE (04/04/2007) � The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) has issued a report officially recommending the Home Structure Rating System (HSRS). The report satisfies requirements of Senate Bill 1980 during the 2006 Legislature, and House Bill1-A during the 2007 Special Legislative Session, which required the Office to develop a new rating system. The rating system scores homes on a scale of 1 to 100 to measure a home�s relative ability to withstand severe windstorm damage.

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“The adoption of a uniform scoring system for home safety is long overdue,” commented Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, “For many Floridians, buying a home is the most important decision a family can make. Having this additional information will allow families to know how a house will endure hurricanes, and how mitigation measures affect insurance costs.”

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The Office worked with the University of Florida�s Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing and Applied Research Associates, Inc. to complete the study and issue the report. The HSRS Advisory Board included mitigation experts, home builders, insurance experts and representatives from academia.

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“The HSRS rating system provides further evidence that Florida is a national leader in hurricane mitigation technology and information,” added Commissioner McCarty.

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The Advisory Board concurred with the HSRS Methodology by unanimous vote during its March 21, 2007 meeting. The primary factors used to calculate the HSRS score include roof shape, secondary water resistance, roof cover, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, opening protection, number of stories, and roof covering type in addition to general geographic features of wind zone location and local terrain.

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A copy of the report is available at: http://www.floir.com/HomeStructureRatingSystem.htm